Ableton: "Learning Music" — On-line Resource

This is fun! Lay down a beat, add a bass line, chords, a melody. Play with variations. Export the results to Live. Wait — weren’t you using Live to do that? Not if you were using the new on-line "Learning Music" resource on Ableton’s website.

"Learning Music" is found on the Ableton "Help" page which hosts a wealth of tutorial videos, FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions), Community links, manuals and training for Live and Push.

Much harder to describe than it is to use (play with!), "Learning Music" is a well-organized interactive experience that takes you on a walk through the elements of music. It guides you to explore scales, chords, loops, structures and concepts, with concrete examples from famous songs. Create your own grooves using the onscreen grids no matter where you are, on your phone, tablet or laptop, all in your browser.

PreSonus: Quantum Thunderbolt 2 Interface

A great choice for a wide variety of recording environments, the Quantum is the fastest and best-sounding audio/MIDI interface from PreSonus, taking advantage of the high-speed Thunderbolt 2 bus and a no-frills, direct-to-DAW signal path to achieve extremely low latency. Its cutting-edge 24-bit, 192 kHz converters with 120 dB of dynamic range and recallable PreSonus XMAX microphone preamps combine to deliver superb audio quality. Like all PreSonus recording interfaces, the Quantum comes with award-winning Studio One Artist DAW software for Mac and Windows.

For more I/O channels, simply stack up to four Quantum interfaces via Thunderbolt to create a monster 96x96 system. Using the included Studio One Artist DAW or UC Surface control software, you can remote-control the preamps and many other features. To top it off, Quantum owners get the Studio Magic plug-in suite free and can upgrade to Studio One Professional for 50% off.

PreSonus: Studio One Version 3.5

PreSonus has raised the bar again with version 3.5 which has more than 40 new features and enhancements. It introduces a completely revised Project Page for mastering, no-holds-barred Mixer Undo functionality, and a powerful new optimized audio engine. This provides unrivalled near-zero latency for audio and virtual instrument monitoring. Get it now as a free update to registered users.

Novation: Circuit 1.5

Circuit 1.5 firmware brings great new additions that are sure to please: Fractional Gate (six times more precision per step plus staccato steps); Improved Gate Functionality (makes it a great choice as a sequencer to drive a modular system to go along with the internal synths and sampler); Synth Patch Preview (allowing you to listen to synth patches directly from the selection view); and MIDI CC Send and Receive (which allows MIDI CC data to be turned on or off).

Circuit Mono Station also comes with MIDI CC Send and Receive so you can choose what MIDI information you want to share between devices.